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Trekkers have recounted facing "extreme" situations after an unexpected snowstorm during one of China's busiest festive periods trapped hundreds of people on Mount Everest, sparking a massive rescue effort.

Evacuation Efforts Underway

Officials in China stated that around 350 people had made their way down but at least 200 remained stranded at the Everest Scenic Area, situated to the east of the mountain, on the Tibetan side of the border.

Crowds of visitors had journeyed to the region for "Golden Week," an eight-day holiday period in China. However, local officials, who administer the Tibetan Autonomous Region, said heavy snowfall had affected the area on Friday and Saturday night, trapping hundreds of individuals at campsites at an elevation of more than 4,900 meters (16,000 feet).

"This was the most extreme conditions I've experienced in all my trekking adventures, undoubtedly," Dong Shuchang said on Weibo, describing a "violent convective blizzard on the eastern slope" of Everest.

"I looked up in the middle of the night and saw that the accumulation had almost covered the top," shared another trekker on a social platform. "It was the initial instance I genuinely experienced the terror of being buried alive."

Eyewitness Reports

One Chinese trekker mentioned their party had been "too frightened to sleep" on that night as accumulation quickly piled up around their shelters, forcing them to clear it hourly. They chose to go down on the next day as the conditions deteriorated.

"During the descent, we encountered our guide’s parent who had searched for him. That's when we discovered the storm was intense in the lowlands as well; villagers, unable to contact their family on the mountain, were extremely worried."

The north and east side of Everest is easier to reach than sites on the Nepal side of the border and attracts high numbers of visitors for less technical trekking, not requiring ascent of the peak.

Visual Evidence

Images and footage shared on the internet depicted tents buried in snow and rows of hikers moving through deep drifts to descend the mountain.

"It was extremely thick, and the trail very slick. Hikers stumbled frequently – a few tumbled, others were bumped by pack animals," said one, who clarified that all safely descended and were picked up by bus.

Current Status

By the weekend, about 350 people had arrived in Qudang, a small town roughly 50 kilometers away from the Tibetan base camp of Everest, "in good health," official sources reported.

At least 200 additional remained trapped but had been reached, the updates said. Local news stated that hundreds of emergency workers had gone up the mountain to assist those trapped and remove accumulation from blocking the way out.

There was little official reporting or updated information about the rescue effort on the following day. It was also not clear if the storm had impacted anyone on the north face of Everest, within the same region. The area is tightly controlled by the authorities, and media entry is restricted. The conditions also appears to have have affected phone services, with calls to local businesses failing. A number of hikers said electricity was cut in Qudang when they arrived.

Seasonal Context

October is a busy period for the region, with usually clear and mild conditions, but one trekker, one of 18 participants of a hiking party that returned to Qudang, commented that the weather this year was "not normal."

"Our leader told us he had not experienced such weather in the fall. And it occurred very abruptly."

The local tourism authority announced admissions and entry to the Everest Scenic Area were suspended from Saturday.

Broader Effects

Adjacent nations were affected as well by extreme weather. Torrential downpours triggered mudslides and flash floods that have closed routes, washed away bridges, and killed at least 47 individuals since the start of the weekend in Nepal.